


Writings of the Soul

by iamawoken



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, I promise, It starts out rough but gets really soft, Rayllum Big Bang, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22555228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamawoken/pseuds/iamawoken
Summary: Elves and humans have never had much in common - one being humans’ lack of soulmates. But after returning Zym to his mother, the human kingdoms and Xadia had begun to grow closer. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start. Three years have passed since Rayla and Callum last saw each other. Now the tenuous peace that exists between their races is threatened by the presence of Moonshadow elves in Katolis, making their reunion anything but fun. Rayla is part of a Moonshadow delegation intent on stomping out this problem before it takes root. It’s not the reunion either had wanted, especially with unresolved feelings still buried in both elf and human hearts’.Eager to overcome their differences, Rayla and Callum team up to investigate the issue, sensing that it is more complex than it may seem. Along the way they find themselves falling back into old habits, and growing past their hesitancy to feel something more for one another. Little do they know, fate has more in store for them than they can possibly imagine.
Relationships: Callum & Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 52





	1. Beginning Again

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this is a Soulmate AU that was totally destroyed by cannon! Please enjoy, I wrote this for the Rayllum Big Bang. Unfortunately, no art, both my artists dropped out :(. Maybe I will add some art later.

Hardly any noise penetrated the night as footsteps carried an unlikely visitor to the gates of the castle. A full moon sat high in the sky and almost against her own will, the elf’s silhouette was translucent. If a guard looked hard enough, they could see her, but after years of peace, not many looked into the night with piercing eyes. 

When she arrived at the castle gates, she scaled the wall with ease. Her destination was set - King Ezran’s bedchambers. Anyone she met along the way would bar her way, so she focused on the strength of the moon, and became almost invisible. 

A silent clock ticked along with her footsteps. There were more racing to the same destination. Determination drove her faster as she gripped cold stones beneath strong fingers. Up. Up. Up. She scaled a tower, pressing on each window to see if it was open. Near the top, she found one unlocked and slipped in. A woman was sleeping in the bed, so the moonshadow elf kept herself pressed to the wall, focused on the floor and creeping forward along a silent path. 

Safely out of the room, she rushed up stairs and down a long, elaborate corridor. It could be no other than the royal quarters. There were a few guards, but not enough. Throwing a careful knife away from her direction sent a faint clatter through the hall. With enough sense to be concerned, but not enough to leave one guard posted at the entrance of Ezran’s bedchamber, both guards followed the sound. 

Their gasps met the elf’s sensitive ears. Every guard knew a moonshadow elf when they saw one. They would understand the danger. She needed to be fast. Before the gasps finished escaping their mouths, she slipped into the bedchambers and crept to the edge of Ezran’s bed. 

She pressed a hand against his lips and the young king woke with a jump. Drawing herself out of the moon’s cloak of invisibility, the elf pressed a single finger to her lips and when Ezran gave a tiny nod, she pulled her hand away. 

“W-what are you doing here?” Ezran stuttered. He was afraid. Of course he was afraid. There was a moonshadow elf that he didn’t know in his bedchambers in the middle of the night. Last time that happened in this castle… it didn’t end well. 

“King Ezran,” the elf started, giving a curt bow of her head. It was a strange greeting, but seemed customary in the human kingdoms. She hoped it would comfort him. “I apologize for my tactics, but I have come to warn you. There is a band of moonshadow assassins coming to the castle tonight, intent on… taking control,” she added carefully. Ezran would know what she meant without her saying it. It was best to be delicate. 

“What, when? How do you know? How do we know you aren’t one of them?” he huffed out.

“I have but one weapon that I threw in the hall to distract the guards,” she answered, holding her arms up to reveal empty sheaths and no weapons clinging to her back, “If you trust me with a weapon, I will help protect you. I do not know when they will come, but before moonfall is certain.”

“You left a weapon, so you alerted the guards too,” Ezran quickly gathered, “They’ll come in here, they’ll imprison you.”

“Yes,” she answered, “It is a risk I’m willing to take.”

“I believe -” 

Ezran was cut off as the doors swung open. There was no time to do anything else as the guards rushed in and pinned the woman to the floor. A flurry of words filled the air. The guards asked Ezran if he was okay, he confirmed he was, but his eyes remained pinned on the elf. 

I believe you. He had wanted to say. She could have killed him before he woke up if she wanted to. What else would be her purpose?

“She isn’t the enemy,” Ezran finally got out between the hustle of guards, “There are assassins coming. She came to warn us.”

“We will have every guard on duty, the castle has already been put on high alert,” the senior guard replied. He perfectly ignored Ezran’s earlier words, and continued pinning the elf to the ground. 

Silver locks of hair fell straight down from her face, shining in the moonlight. It reminded him of Rayla, not that he’d seen her in years, but his elf was different. She was lithe - yes - but she wasn’t toned with muscle. Her hair was longer and not tied up. Though her clothes weren’t excessive, they were certainly more flowy, not suited for action or combat. Despite the pointed ears, horns, and violet eyes that humans still seemed to consider monstrous, she looked like a perfectly normal woman. A woman whose face was being shoved to the ground by his guards. 

“Do I need to order you to let her go?” Ezran asked, his voice deeper, more commanding. He was still young, and too gentle for a king. Even his own people found it easy to ignore his wishes.

“All do respect,” the senior guard started. He was at least a few decades older, and despite Ezran’s royal status, seemed to think himself higher, “She broke into the palace. Good intentions or not, a crime has been committed. Until we confirm her intentions, this elf will be held in prison.”

“You will give her accommodations,” Ezran pressed. He knew the laws and didn’t intend to go against them, but there’s a difference between complying to laws and being cruel. From the way the guard spat the world elf, Ezran knew he intended to be cruel. 

“Captain, you will assemble the guard and stay with me. Bastian,” Ezran continued, making the younger guard snap to attention, “You will escort this woman to our finest holding chamber.” They gave curt nods and Bastian extended a hand down to the elf, giving her far more respect than his senior. 

“I will come speak to you in the morning, assuming we all make it through the night,” Ezran told her. She nods and is lead out the door. As soon as she was gone, Ezran’s heart sank. It was just like that night nearly four years ago. Despite warning, they struggled to fend off the elves then. Hopefully, tonight, after years of strengthening the castle’s security (despite being at peace, you can never be too prepared, and it really does help Ezran sleep at night), they could do better. 

The attack came a few hours later. Thank the stars above, no one died. There was only a small band of elves - three to be exact. It was clear to Ezran that this wasn’t a coordinated attack - they didn’t seem to know much about the castle or its operation. Most likely, this wasn’t something the majority of moonshadow elves - or even Xadia - approved of. That didn’t stop every single one of his advisors from requesting they take firm action. 

It took hours to convince them otherwise. Instead, he decided on another course of action - something that had been a long time coming anyways. Ezran wanted to consult someone who understood the moonshadow elves and their concerns. She’d been living with them for three years again, now it was time to come back and face what she’d left here. By late afternoon, Ezran had sent an official summons and a party summon her. Just in case it somehow got lost. There would be no ignoring this letter, no refusing this summons. 

Rayla was coming.

\----

Rayla was coming. There was a time, three years ago, when Callum would have been giddy about the prospect of seeing his best friend. But, these were trying times, and she wasn’t coming to see them. She was coming on behalf of the Moonshadow clan.

Apparently, she was an ambassador now, though she had never made it to Katolis. Not that the moon shadows had been especially good at negotiating peace. There was still a lot of resentment for the death of Harrow and for the death of the assassins sent to kill him. But Rayla was doing her best. 

The revelations from the Moonshadow elf that had willingly come to the castle to warn Ezran of an assassination attempt were still reverberating through the community. Rayla would likely not have an easy time getting to the castle, even with the royal escort that Ezran had provided.

Ezran interrupted his brother’s thoughts, “Do you still miss her?”

Callum sighed. He didn’t want to admit it, but of course he missed her. Even after she stopped replying to his letters a year ago. Even after she ignored his invitations to Katolis. Even after he continued drawing her in his spare time. He still couldn’t deny how much he wanted to see her. 

“Yea, I guess I do. I don’t want to, but I do.”

Ezran gave him a small smile, “Well look on the bright side, at least you’ll finally get to talk to her about.”

Callum rolled his eyes, “Yea, as if she even cares about what I have to say at this point. That’ll be the day.”

—-

Rayla was terrified. She didn’t want to admit it, she didn’t want to show her fear, but there was no denying it. 

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. The first time she visited Katolis was supposed to be a happy occasion. But now, a fortnight after an attempt on Ezran’s life by her own people, it was going to be all business.

Rayla ran her hands through her lengthening white hair. She wondered if Callum would like it. 

Not the point, Rayla. 

She had already caused him too much pain. It had seemed like the right decision at the time. Rayla had hoped her crush on the human prince would go away after they delivered Zym to his mom. But years later, it had still been going strong. His letters were always so sweet and thoughtful. Every time one came for her, she would stop whatever she was doing to read it.

It was hopeless, she realized. There was no way a human prince and an elf could be together. He probably had to marry some human princesses anyways, so what was the point? So, she decided to root Callum out of her life all at once. It would be the best thing for both of them. He could find someone and move on and Rayla could focus on her work. 

His letters became more desperate as time went on, until they stopped all together.

There was one line from his last letter she would never forget, though:

Rayla, I’m not really sure what I did. Whatever it was I’m so sorry. I loved you, you know. I’m sorry. 

He had loved her, just like she had loved him. And she went and fucked it up. She would never forgive herself. Now, she had to face the Prince who had stolen her heart, and there was literally nothing she could do. 

—-

The day of Rayla’s arrival came without much fan fare. She wasn’t a royal dignitary or a representative of Zym’s mother, so there was no welcoming feast planned for the night of her arrival. 

Still, Ezran wanted to make her arrival feel special, so he had decided to greet her himself. Callum, of course, had made some sort of excuse as to why he couldn’t be there. That was alright with Ezran, he had some words for Rayla himself. 

She arrived on horseback, with the carriage Ezran had sent for her in toe. Typical Rayla.

Ezran could tell, even from a short distance, that Rayla had grown up. She was a little taller, her horns a little longer, and her body a little fuller than he remembered. Even Callum’s drawings didn’t quite do her justice. Yea, he could see why his brother was still pining after her. 

“Ezran! You’ve gotten so big! I think you’re taller than me now!” Rayla’s voice had changed, too. It was smoother, lighter, less child like now. Ezran would say beautiful, but that adjective was reserved for Callum when it came to Rayla.

“Heh, I suppose I have. But you too! You look so different from when I last saw you!” It was hard to believe it had been so many years. 

Rayla jumped off her horse and landed in front of Ezran. She wrapped him up in a bear-hug saying, “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

“It’s ok Rayla, I know how things can get. You know, being king and all. I actually don’t think it’s me you need to be apologizing to.” Ezran had a slight edge to his voice, which for Rayla’s part didn’t go unnoticed. 

Callum had helped and protected him for all these years, and now that Ezran was old enough to understand it all, he had vowed to do some protecting himself. 

“I know, Ez. I really mucked things up between us. I plan to tell him why I did what I did if he decides to see me.” Her voice was strained, maybe even a little bit desperate to be heard.

That would do, for now, Ezran thought. 

“Good, now let’s find you a place to put your things. We have a lot to talk about.”

\-----

It was strange to walk through the castle where Rayla’s two favorite humans had grown up. She imagined it was still bittersweet to live here, given their father had perished just a few rooms away.

The elf had time to entertain these thoughts, because for the most part, Ezran stayed quiet. His breaths were short, his strides long, and shoulders still. If Rayla didn’t know better, she would have thought he was afraid of her. But that couldn’t be it. She knew what he was feeling and couldn’t blame him. When she decided to let go of Callum, she had also ruined the chance to one day call Ezran her brother. 

That close bond seemed so far away, and now, as he turned to her, she was unsure of what emotion colored his eyes. They were cold, but still kind. It was an odd combination of the boy she had known, and what he had become. 

“I suppose we should get this out of the way now,” Ezran started. Rayla’s breath caught in her throat, unsure of what the young king meant, but sure it wouldn’t be pleasant, “When you stopped writing Callum last year, his heart shattered. He wasn’t the same for a while. He hardly came out of his room, barely talked, and closed off his emotions. He’s gotten better, but he’s still not the same. You should be prepared for that.”

“Ezran, I…,” Truthfully, Rayla didn’t know what to say. She wanted to apologize, to say that she’d made a huge mistake. Instead, all that came out was a soft sigh. 

“It’s okay, Rayla. You had a reason for doing what you did and it wasn’t your responsibility to feel the same way he did. I just wanted to prepare you for when you see him at dinner tonight.”

“Dinner??” She wasn’t ready for that, not in the slightest.

“Indeed. See you at eight.” And with a small smirk, the boy king was gone.

\---

“What do you mean I have to see her at dinner tonight?!”

Callum rarely got upset. But when his brother had told him his attendance was required at dinner with Rayla later that night, he couldn’t help it. Ezran almost never played the ‘king’ card, but he was not budging today.

“Yes. She’s our best friend, Callum. Not to mention that she now leads all diplomatic efforts for the Moon elves. You must be present.”

“She was our best friend, Ez. Then she stopped talking to us. For no reason. Out of nowhere. How do you expect me to forgive that?”

“By trying. You don’t really have a choice. I will see you tonight.” Ezran exited the room as quickly as he had arrived.

Callum wanted to be excited, he really did. The girl that he had fallen in love with was back. He could suck up his pride and hug her again, feel her again. But every time he thought about taking that chance, he remembered how she had forgotten him, tossed him to the wayside.

It wasn’t until suffering through the first half of dinner that Callum discovered a reason for her sudden lack of communication. Elves had soulmates.

\---

“Wh-what do you mean? Elves have soulmates?” Callum tasted the words in his mouth as his mind was still processing them, “Like, just someone that they feel completes them. Right? That’s it right?”

He didn’t want to be at this dinner, but Ezran made him. So for the most part, he sat there quietly and ate while Ezran made conversation with Rayla. When Ezran asked of any developments in her village, Rayla had landed on the topic of a few pairs of soulmates that had found each other and were going through with ceremonies to commit their lives to each other. 

Soulmates sounded like something out of a cheesy romance novel. Yet Callum’s heart had skipped quite a few beats when he heard it. Did elves have others specifically meant for them? Bound to them by some invisible thread? Was that why Rayla had stopped correspondence with him? Had she found her soulmate? 

Mere seconds of silence gave birth to a flurry of thoughts that made Callum’s heart rate skyrocket. He reminded himself to breathe as his eyes bored into Rayla, waiting for the explanation he deserved.

“Umm, no,” she started, coy. It was too indirect for Callum’s current state of mind and he might have given a glare that pushed her forward, 

“It’s exactly what it sounds like really. There are souls that are made for each other. We can tell based on the marking of our horns. The patterns can lead us to certain clans, but each marking is unique only to the two who share it. It can still be difficult to find a soulmate, so we hold quite the celebration when anyone finds their other half. Of course some elves choose to forego finding their soulmate and choose another as their mate. Given our inclination towards such intense relationships though, non-soulmate pairs often don’t work out. Anyways, we had two pairs find each other recently which is unusually many.”

Ezran made some congratulatory remark, but Callum didn’t catch it, his mind still spinning with the new information. After all this time of loving an elf, he only now understood how hopeless it all was. Rayla had someone that was made for her, and there was no way he could compete with that. Still, a question burned in his mind, not letting him drop the subject.

“Is that why you abandoned us? You found someone and couldn’t be bothered with human friends anymore?” he asked, voice stern and flat. Ezran closed his mouth as if he had been in the middle of saying something - honestly, Callum didn’t know if he had been or not. He watched as Rayla flinched, shrinking away. Shock widened her eyes and dismay filled them, both emotions that Callum had felt in the last months.

“Callum, of course not,” Rayla pleaded, but it sounded like a lie. And inside, she knew it was partially. She had felt something for Callum. Something she thought might be the beginning of love. It was exhilarating and terrifying, because there was no precedent for human-elf relationships, but there was precedent for non-soulmate relationships and they didn’t end well. Rayla didn’t want that for her and Callum.

Throat burning, Rayla waited for Callum to say something else, but he didn’t. Of course he didn’t. She’d barely denied his blaims, and had done it badly at that. There was more she owed him, more she needed to say. Yet as much as it pained her to see Callum’s distress, she was afraid to tell him the truth. She was damaged, and even if she did have feelings for that, she couldn’t burden him with that. 

“Why did you stop responding then?” Callum finally asked, annoyed by the fact that he’s the one who had to press Rayla onward. Might as well air all his grievances now, “Cos you started acting like the two of us didn’t exist, like we meant nothing to you. Is that what you intended to do? To make the year we spent together feel worthless? To prove everyone’s point that elves and humans can’t be friends? Did you go back to your world and realize how much better it was than us? Please tell me Rayla,” his voice that had been raised nearly to a shout, dropped to a mere whisper now, “Explain to us why you left us behind, because I’ve come up with hundreds of answers, and yours can’t be worse than any of them.”

“I don’t have a soulmate,” Rayla whimpered, finally letting out the words she’d been chewing on the entire time Callum was ranting. “I didn’t leave, or stop talking to you because of any of those things you think. Callum, after all the time we spent together, I was starting to feel things for you. You are more special than anyone in my life, but I have no soulmate, and experience has shown me that those relationships don’t work. I didn’t want to drag it out. I didn’t want to try and end up hurting you. I was afraid of doing anything like that, but I see now that’s what I did anyway. I’m so sorry I left you, I should have explained-”

“Yes, you should have,” Callum huffed. He pinched his brows together and tried to rub out some of the tension in his head to no avail. “Skies above, why didn’t you just tell me Rayla?”

The human pressed back his chair and its screeching against the floor perfectly reflected the tense situation. He stood up, hands braced on the table and gaze set firmly on Rayla. 

“I wouldn’t have cared. I wanted to give it a shot. The whole world would have been against it anyway, why would it matter that there was one more factor involved?” he lifted his hands from the table and took a careful step back, looking at the floor now, instead of the person that he once loved… maybe still did. “I can’t believe you had so little faith in me, in us. I guess it doesn’t matter now. We’ll keep up with diplomatic relations, but you already threw our friendship away, so I see no reason to dine together tonight.”

Callum turned his back, and there were a million things Rayla wanted to say, but her mouth ran dry. There are not enough words in human or elven languages combined to apologize for what she’s done. Only now does she understand how ridiculous it was, how selfish it was. Her mind and heart screamed at her to do something, but she sat still as a statue - still afraid to do anything more to mess this up. All she could do was watch Callum walk away, and wonder if it would be like this forever.

“See you in the morning, Ez,” Callum muttered. Those last words reached them both as he disappeared behind the door - a warning not to visit him tonight. Clearly he had some thinking to do, and he wasn’t in the mood to talk to either of them. 

For a brief moment, Rayla and Ezran sat together in the silence that was a consequence of their actions (mostly Rayla’s, and she knew). Only when the elf could feel Ezran’s pointed, yet somehow sympathetic gaze on her, did she speak up. 

“I think I’ll go wash up for the night. It was a long day of travel and my appetite…,” she trailed off, not wanting to admit that the argument had ruined it, made her nauseous instead. 

“Of course,” Ezran answered, his voice sounding softer than she’d expected, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Without a second thought, without looking back, Rayla left the room and headed straight to hers. She barged out the balcony doors and plopped down on the cold stone as the moonlight enveloped her. It was easier to think here than on the soft human bed. It was easier to scold herself over and over again without falling into the false security of self pity. Because she knew she didn’t deserve pity - she’d messed this up. 

Everything that had happened after returning Zym to his mother had been her fault. Because of what she’d done, all of her fears had come true. The man she had begun to love probably hated her now, her best friends felt like something from another life. Her fear had pressed her into a corner - alone - and she wanted nothing more than to take it all back, or to find a way to fix this. But at the end of the day, she was just a young, naive elf who had absolutely no idea how to fix this.


	2. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callum and Rayla start talking again.

Callum’s breaths were ragged. He had virtually sprinted out of the dinning room after speaking with Rayla for the first time in over a year. He still couldn’t quite process what he was feeling. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest, his face was burning, and his fists were clenched. Anyone who would have seen him would have said he was angry. Callum supposed that was true, he was angry. But, more than anything, he was sad, devastated even. After all this time pining for the Moonshadow Elf, he finally knew that she had felt the same way as he did. It was a relief, almost, to know that he had not been alone in his feelings.

However, that wasn’t quite right, either. He had been alone in his feelings. Rayla never told him how she felt and had cut off communication completely. She had left no opening for him to discuss the depth of his feelings for her. Instead, she left him stranded with his feelings, virtually trapped in Katolis. 

Callum sighed. His steps were dragging now. It was as if his body didn't quite want to bring him all the way back to his room. He looked around, there were no guards or staff in sight. Callum walked up to the stone wall on his right and braced himself as he sat on the hard floor. He closed his eyes as tears began to flow. 

If he was being honest, what hurt the most was how lonely he felt. He always had Ezran, and he was grateful for that, but his relationship with Rayla was different. It was comfortable, it was caring, and it meant a great deal to him. Then, overnight, that relationship had disappeared. One of the things that had kept him grounded, comfortable, and made him feel safe was pulled from underneath him. It wasn’t fair.

As Callum’s tears dried up, he opened his eyes. He groaned the moment he recognized where he was. Not a lot had changed in the castle, and this hallway was no exception. The suit of armor, the drapes, and the carpeting were all the same. This is where he had met Rayla, his would be assassin. After everything that had happened, it was crazy to imagine a single moment where she would have killed him. Even then, she had the kindest heart of anyone he had ever met. Sometimes, Callum wondered how Rayla had even managed to be so kind to him. She had been taught her entire life that humans were they enemy meant to be killed.

And yet...she admitted that she had started to have feelings for him, a human. Callum knew that had to be hard. From what he had gathered about Rayla’s culture in their travels, he knew Moon Elves were intensely loyal and guarded their hearts closely. It must have been scary to even have a single positive thought about a human, let alone a romantic one.

Oh no.

Oh no, no, no.

In focusing on his own anger and disappointment, Callum had completely ignored the person he cared for most, Rayla. She probably had felt alone and scared, just like him. But, unlike him, she felt like she couldn’t tell anyone. Despite the peace, elves especially looked down on any friendship, let alone relationship, between a human and an elf. 

And then there was this soulmate business. What did Rayla mean when she said that she didn't have a soulmate? All elves were supposed to, even Callum knew that. If she truly didn’t have a soulmate, she would be devastated. 

Callum had pulled out his sketchbook by now and was scribbling the same pattern he always did when he got upset and needed to think. It always started as a simple, flowing line, but as it grew longer, it started branching off into different, twisty shapes. Some of the lines curled around each other as if they were dancing, while others simply sprawled across the page. Callum had been drawing this pattern ever since he picked up a pencil. Over the years, the patterns had become more and more intricate, but now, now he hadn’t edited the chape for at least three years. It felt perfect to him, and he couldn’t quite explain why. 

But now, now he needed to go apologize to Rayla. It wasn’t like him to have an outburst like that, and even though he still felt hurt and abandoned, he knew he should have just talked through it with her, like they had always done. 

With that, Callum snapped his sketchbook closed and proceeded to the only place he thought Rayla could be, the highest tower in Katolis.

\---

Rayla had long run out of tears. Callum had never been one to shout, so to say that she was startled would have been an understatement. She supposed she deserved it. What had she expected? For him to welcome her with loving arms?

Rayla sighed, that would have been nice.

“You could have had that Rayla, you silly silly elf girl. If you had just followed your heart, you wouldn’t be in this mess right now”. She was happy, there was no one around to hear her whispers. She was Moonshadow, she wasn’t supposed to exhibit emotion like this. Cutting Callum off should have been an easy transaction for her. She was an assassin who knew she could have a soulmate waiting back in Xadia. Instead, it was the hardest thing she had ever done. Then, when the elders told her she did not have a soulmate, the whole thing became even harder. 

She sighed again, louder this time. Now, she would never find out what it would have been like to be with Callum.

“If you sigh any harder, you might just suffocate yourself”. His voice was soft, but hesitant. But she would recognize his voice anywhere, it was Callum.

“Oh, hi...wait, how did you sneak up on me, that should be impossible.”

“Oh! I flew up here.”

“Wait, you FLEW???”

“Yea! I learned how to use sky magic to propel myself upward pretty recently. I was going to write you about it, but…” His excitement faded a bit as he recalled the months of waiting for a reply that never came.

“I’m sorry Callum, I really am, I don’t even know what else to say anymore. I was so scared and so stupid. All of the elder elves told me I was insane thinking I could have a friendship with a human, let alone a prince. I panicked when I started having feelings for you. Rather than addressing them and talking to you like we have always talked about everything, I ran away. Just like my parents!” As she spoke, her words tumbled out of her mouth. She had meant to come up with some well-reasoned, level apology so her and Callum could have some sort of normal working relationship. Instead, everything she had been repressing for the last three years had made its way out. 

Rayla buried her face in her hands, not wanting to be seen by Callum.

After several moments of silence, she looked up to see if Callum had just walked away, not wanting to hear her pathetic excuses anymore. Instead, he was sitting on the ground a few feet away from her, crying silently. 

Before she could even think about what she was doing, her habits from before this whole mess kicked in. She sat next to Callum and took him into her arms. At first, Rayla could feel the entirety of Callum’s body tense, but that quickly subsided as Callum began to quietly sob into her shoulder. 

To say she was confused would have been an understatement. Callum had not done anything wrong, at least, not in her mind. Rationally, he was angry with her for what she considered a betrayal of the trust they had built over the years. Maybe, he was crying from the pain she had caused him and her touch was just wounding him more. Rayla pulled away at this thought, not wanting to cause any more pain than she already had.

“Rayla….I should be the sorry one. I have been a complete asshole since you showed back up into my life. I should be grateful you are here, not spiteful. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I shouldn’t have said any of the mean things that I did. I want to say that I didn’t mean any of it, but I know that’s not true...and I really don’t like myself for that. I’m really sorry, I never looked at any of this through your eyes. It all must have been so hard...even being around a human after everything you had been taught. But, you were so brave, braver than all of us and you don't deserve my antipathy.” He was rambling, like he always did when he was nervous or sad. Rayal raised her hand and brushed the tears from under his eyes.

“Don’t be sorry, sad prince. We both made mistakes, and it's not like us to not talk about them, and that is my fault, I didn't even give you the chance. If you can somehow find it in your heart to forgive me, I would really love to be in your life again. You’re my best friend, and you always will be.”

Callum simply nodded, grabbed Rayla’s hand and pressed his face into her shoulder.

This felt right, and, in that moment, she wouldn’t have traded it for anything.

\----

The next morning brought something like a smile to Callum’s face. It had been a while since he had felt carefree and happy. Maybe that’s not quite where he was yet, but it was somewhere closer than normal. He had Rayla back. Things weren’t exactly as they had once been, but it was better. It was good to know how she was doing, to know that - of course - she had a reason for it. Even if he didn’t like the reason, it helped to know there had been one.

The good feelings were transferred into a drawing. For the first time in months he drew Rayla. Her face came out somber, her form, just as he remembered. As he was going to finish it, Ezran came into his room, his presence announced by the creaking of the great old oak door. 

“Callum, how are you feeling?” he started before being entirely in the room. Callum looked up and put his sketchbook aside, drawing almost complete save for some textures and details. It was good enough for a quick morning sketch anyways. 

“Hey Ez, I’m actually doing pretty good.”

“Really?” the young king asked, clearly surprised. After all, he had no idea what went down after the two left dinner last night. He walked over to Callum’s bed and plops down on the edge, perhaps just a little too bouncy for a king. 

“Yeah, me and Rayla actually made up last night,” Callum got out with the hint of a smirk. He was proud of it, perhaps too proud as he beamed down at his kid brother, “I realized I was kinda a jerk and we both admitted to our wrongs. It’s not quite like it used to be, but it’s better.”

“That’s amazing!” Ezran exclaimed. His whole face lit up, and there was the bouncy again. “I’m so happy for you both, honestly it happened a lot faster than I was expecting.”

“More like planning,” Callum prodded, “I know what your goal was.”

“Can you blame me? You two are cute together.”

Callum just rolled his eyes in response and got up, throwing a jacket over his thin woven shirt. It was probably time to go out, to engage in some kind of diplomacy. As if on cue, Ezran spoke up with this morning’s agenda. 

“I would love to hear all about this, but right now we actually have a meeting to decide what to do about the moon shadow elves. You know, the whole reason Rayla came.”

“I didn’t realize that was already happening,” Callum sighed. It’s not like he didn’t want to help resolve the issue, but dealings between humans and elves were always a headache inducing kind of complicated. At least Rayla would be here this time. He finished making himself presentable - making himself look like a diplomat and a prince - and followed Ezran to the meeting hall.

\---

The meeting went about as smoothly as expected. After hours of debate it was decided that several parties would be dispatched to survey the kingdom for any signs of moon shadow invasion. Among a smaller, more trusted committee, it was also agreed upon that Rayla and Callum would go in search of anything that seemed unusual. Rayla had some ideas about where sinister moon shadow elves may be hiding and what they may be plotting. 

Parties were scheduled for dispatch in about a week. In the meantime, preparations were to be made and strategies more firmly decided on. Because Rayla and Callum’s mission was more secret, they were left with days on their own to prepare. 

The first few might have been a little awkward as the two shook off the dust of their relationship, but within half a week, they were acting like old friends again. Maybe something a little more. On several occasions, Ezran went to check on their progress and found himself cringing at their (overly) friendly interactions. Even so, his heart warmed at seeing Callum happy again, at seeing them both happy and acting how they should be. 

\---

The night before they were scheduled to leave for their new adventure, Rayla and Callum lingered in the dining hall after their meal. It started as an opportunity to tie down last minute plans, but turned into a much more casual hang out. 

“Do you think we’ll find any more dragons on this trip?” Callum joked. That got a little laugh out of Rayla, not the large, loud one he’d been hoping for. Still, it was something.

“I meannn, I doubt it,” she drawled, still giggling a little, “Not in Katalos. And I’m pretty sure we won’t be ending up in Xadia, so unless you humans stole another dragon egg, I think this will be a dragon free adventure.”

“S’a shame,” Callum dropped his head in a fake pout and that made Rayla laugh. It was bright and it echoed through the hall with the same intensity Callum remembered, “I miss Zym, how’s the little guy doing?”

“Pretty good,” Rayla answered quickly. If Callum wasn’t mistaken, she even leaned a little bit closer to him. Could be wishful thinking, but the two really were getting their old mojo back and he relished it every chance he got. “I think he’s a little bored. Mom keeps him under lock and key. So life isn’t quite the adventure he had when he was around us. Still, he’s growing up well, he’ll make a fine king one day.”

“That’s good to hear,” Callum hummed. He was starting to get sleepy and it transferred to his voice. But no matter how tired he got, he wasn’t quite ready to retire yet. He wanted more of this, even though tomorrow he would probably still have good times with Rayla, he wanted to cherish it now. Maybe he was just a bit paranoid from before. He tried not to hold it against her, but her disappearance always lingered in the back of his mind. 

“I think you should hit the hay, sleepy head,” Rayla offered with a little poke at his shoulder, “Big day tomorrow, don’t wanna be stopping for afternoon naps or anything.”

Callum groaned accordingly, but he could hardly disagree. 

“We finished all the planning, yeah?” she asked, already getting up but lingering with a hand on the table, leaning casually. Casual, that was nice. 

“Ye-yeah,” Callum returned after a bit of a delay. There was a feeling in his chest that he hadn’t felt for a long time and he tried to quell it, but the heart is stubborn. He just felt warm and comfortable, “Yeah, we finished everything, so I’ll see you at the front gates around sunrise then?”

“Sounds good Prince Callum,” Rayla teased. She did that now, teased him by calling him prince. And for some reason it had quite an effect, “I’ll be off to bed, you better do the same.” She walked towards the door, stopping just before she went out and turned to point accusingly at Callum, “We are not stopping for afternoon naps.”

\---

That night Callum was plagued with dreams that showed him the danger of his returning feelings and of the trip ahead. He tossed and turned and was grateful if not still tired when a paige came to wake him up before dawn.

Rayla on the other hand slept peacefully, and it was waking up that startled her, because she had been dreaming of watching the sunrise together with Callum. It had been so nice, but there was no way it could be real. She knew that. 

Luckily the reality of the morning was not quite how either had envisioned. They left early - as the sun was rising - because by some miracle they made their planned departure time. In the near silence of early morning they headed away from the capital of Katalos, towards the border with Xadia. Of course they weren’t going to make it far in one day, but they followed a path that Rayla insisted was the most strategic way in. 

For the most part they stayed quiet as Callum was tired (and not intent on letting Rayla know it) and Rayla was listening for danger. 

Many days went by this way. There were long periods of silence often interrupted by passing thoughts. It was amazing to Callum that just weeks ago, he had not seen Rayla in years. Now, it was as if she had never left. Their conversation flowed easily, and soon, so did their affection. It came to a head one night after they had been traveling for a month.

They had just went through yet another village that had no information on the potential danger to the Kingdom. These people had been particularly rude to Rayla, practically ignoring her existence and muttering insults under their breaths. For Rayla’s part, she handled it like a well-trained diplomat, smiling the entire time. But Callum could see it, she was bothered. He brought it up later that night after they had made camp outside the city.

“So, those people weren’t very nice today…”

“Mhmmm, it’s nothing I am not used to, you know. I have been playing this ambassador game for awhile now.”

“Rayla, you shouldn’t have to be used to it. They are wrong. Plain and simple.”

Rayla sighed, “that may be true Callum, but it is like this on both sides. I don’t think things would be any better for you over in Xadia if our places were reversed.”

Callum contemplated that for a moment, wondering if he would be willing to tolerate all the racism that Rayla had to in the human Kingdoms. He answered quickly and without thinking.

“As long as I was with you, none of it would matter, Rayla. It never has.” The admission was honest, open, and full of adoration. Rayla’s face turned red as soon as the words left Callum’s mouth.

“I….I...didn’t know you still felt that way about me Callum,” she spoke in a soft, somewhat insecure voice.

“I think that is why I was so hurt when you left, Rayla. I was willing to make it work. I still am, if you even feel the same way.” He reached his hand out for hers, nervously hoping against hope that she would take it. 

Rayla’s eyes began to water as tears formed, she grabbed Callum’s hands and sat across from him on her knees.

“Callum, of course I want to make it work. I always wanted to make it work, I just...let fear get the best of me. But now that I am here, with you, I am not going to let that happen again,” she paused briefly, “I love you, I always have.”

Callum softened, and returned her tentative smile with one that almost met his ears.

“Oh Rayla, I love you too, I have missed you so much!” Callum brought her into a hug, pulling her close so that she knew that he would never let her go.

Rayla pulled him close to, whispering kindness and re assurances into his ear. They were finally going to make up for lost time, and she could not have been happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it's a much fluffier chapter this time, as promised. Also, can you tell I am bad at slow burn? I hope you enjoyed!


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